In the food service industry, uniformly applying condiments such as ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, sour cream, guacamole, tartar sauce, cream cheese, hot sauce, sandwich spreads, and the like to various dishes such as hamburgers, sandwiches, hotdogs, tacos, and the like can be problematic. Often, these condiments are applied to various foods by an operator using a plastic squeeze bottle. This method can cause a lack of uniformity in the application of the condiment onto the food due to factors such as the amount of condiment in the squeeze container, the hand strength of the operator, and the experience and attentiveness of the operator. The lack of uniformity is particularly undesirable in the franchise and quick service restaurant industry because customers end up with an inconsistent amount of condiments on dishes they have come to know well and expect a consistent amount of condiment thereon. Moreover, the constant repetition of squeezing a squeeze bottle can cause fatigue in an operator and even slow down the food preparation process, which is extremely undesirable in the quick service restaurant industry.
The above shortcomings have caused a desire in the food service industry to dispense pre-measured amounts of various condiments on foods in a quick and accurate manner. As such, several devices have been created for use in the food service industry, including a mechanical pump-type device that operates substantially similar to a caulking gun. These condiment dispensing guns allow an operator, upon pulling a trigger, to cause a ratcheting or otherwise forced plunger to become incrementally displaced. The displacement of the plunger results in a decrease in volume and an increase in pressure within a cartridge holding the condiment to be dispensed, thus causing a pre-measured amount of the condiment to be ejected from one or more openings or slits defined in the end of the cartridge and applied to the food. Like caulking guns, the barrel of existing condiment dispensing guns is often cylindrical in shape and constructed of metal.
Upon the operator completing the task of applying condiment to the food, the operator often slides, tosses, or throws the condiment dispensing gun into a rack, bin or holder for storage along with other condiment dispensing guns when not in use. Because both the condiment dispensing gun and the holder are constructed of metal, the shock created by the impact that occurs when a condiment dispensing gun is tossed into the holder can result in an undesired release of the condiment from the cartridge. Not only does this unintentionally ejected condiment result in waste, but it also creates a mess in the holder that must be cleaned. Once in the holder, known condiment dispensing guns, which are substantially cylindrical in shape, often do not remain in a consistent position, nor are they capable of self-orienting into a repeatable and desired orientation. This can lead to difficulty when an operator attempts to quickly grab a condiment dispensing gun from the holder and can further result in the handles of two adjacently-placed condiment dispensing guns interfering with one another. Moreover, because known condiment dispensing guns and holders are constructed of metal, the act of tossing (or even placing) the dispensing gun in the holder can make an irritating, distracting noise in an already hectic kitchen environment.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved condiment dispensing device that can be placed within a holder with a reduced amount of impact. A need also exists for a condiment dispensing device that becomes positioned within the holder in a desired and consistent orientation. A further need exists for a condiment dispensing device that may be placed within the holder in a generally quiet manner.